There’s always that one person on Instagram who always seems to post the coolest travel photos. You think to yourself, “How are they always traveling? How do they afford to do it?” and, most importantly, “How can I do what they’re doing, and soon?

With a work + travel lifestyle you can travel now, and travel later. You don't have to live vicariously through your favorite Instagrammers...because you don’t have to wait to make your travel dreams a reality.

Here’s how:

How you can travel the world (sooner than you think)

Start by knowing it is possible for anyone

For me, I didn’t always know a work + travel lifestyle was possible. I thought you had to save up a ton of money, had to leave your job or everything behind, and then travel for a month or so before returning home to save up and do it again.

I thought to travel you had to follow an endless cycle of work-work-work-save, travel, and then go home to work-work-work-save to go on a future trip.

How wrong I was.

Some people do this, but you know what that is?

Draining.

The secret is to work WHILE you travel.

How to live a work + travel lifestyle

Instead, you can find meaningful (and fun!) ways to travel by working while you do it.

Some of the many travel jobs out there include:

Volunteering at eco resorts around the world in exchange for housing (think WWOOF or Work Away)

Teaching the English language to students all over the world. The only qualifications? Be a native English speaker, hold a university degree in any subject, and get a certificate like TEFL or TESOL

Being a tour guide or travel coordinator and take people on full-packaged trips to different countries (this is what I did when I was living in Italy)

Starting a successful online business so you can work from wherever, as long as you have a wifi connection. Being a digital nomad means your "office" is quite literally wherever you take your laptop

Don't those sound like fun?! That's only a taste of the endless opportunities out there. All it takes is to put yourself out there and see what happens.

Customize a work + travel lifestyle for your situation, so you can travel SOON!

Your level of commitment can be as much or as little as you like.

That's the beauty of a work + travel lifestyle - there are so many opportunities out there, that you can truly customize it for YOUR situation.

You either find a way or a make a way.

I’ve lived a work + travel lifestyle for years, even though my lifestyle has changed over time. First I was right out of college with no money. Later, I had a full-time job but got creative with ways to travel around limited vacation time.

I was tired of reading blogs and scrolling through Instagram looking at OTHER people traveling. I needed to make it happen for myself.

The whole work-work-work-save, travel system wasn't going to work for me, so I found a new way to travel.

My jobs ranged in time anywhere from two weeks to six months, and covered most or all of my expenses.

And not just travel expenses like flights - also my hotel or apartment, food, and activities on trips. I've gotten to:

Go to the opera at Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna,

See a Chinese acrobatic show in Shanghai,

Go white water rafting in Croatia,

Hike and see beautiful coastal views on the island of Capri,

Host champagne parties in the French Riviera,

and see Broadway shows in Manhattan...all covered by the companies I was working for.

With my teammate Jenna at the "office" - the beach in Positano, Italy!

A work + travel lifestyle has allowed me to travel (in my country and internationally) again and again, while saving thousands of dollars in the process.

It was also really fun, opened me up to a much wider range of travel opportunities, and also a new network of people - many of which became some of my best friends.

Stop working somewhere unfulfilling just to make money so that you can work to make money.